I sometimes think back to how often I made my family listen to the Do You Feel and Hello, Good Friend albums on repeat during my teen years. I was angsty, and it made for good road trip music. And over the years, I’ve been nostalgic for those albums as The Rocket Summer has continue to release ace albums that inspire human connection on several unique levels. I was so happy to head out and support Bryce Avary during The Rocket Summer’s stop in Kansas City to play The Riot Room on October 8th.
I ended the most beautiful autumn evening belting out songs I sang twelve, thirteen years ago. Songs that made me feel like I was invincible, like I had to leave Kansas City to find myself. Like Kansas City had ever been a small town in any way. And here, I found myself singing this song in the same city, the city I have chosen to reside in during my adult years, the city that has brought me so much abundance and revelations about myself. Sure, I spent my time on both coasts, but I value this city. So I might not agree with the exact sentiment of the song, but the sense of adventure it invokes is a tale as old as time.
Between crowd pleasers like “Break It Out”, “Hold On”, “Do You Feel”, “So Much Love”, “Tell Me Something Good”, and more, Avary sprinkled his newer tracks, all of which boast the same, smart writing, intense percussion, and incredible amounts of emotion. “Morning Light”, “Shatter Us”, and “Wannalife” brought out some of Avary’s most recent art, an album we have been swimming in since August. Bryce Avary’s voice is all the instrument you need. Witness that in any number of his songs, his robust vocal ability truly captivating any audience, large or small. But his is some of the most elevated lyrical writing I have ever heard, and he consistently impresses with unique and vibrant instrumentals.
Throughout the extended set — Avary stayed for a proper encore, stretching his performance past the official curfew and reveling in the way the crowd had made him feel that evening — the energy and events that inspired each specific song were so ridiculously palpable. A night like this, surrounded by an intimate crowd in a small venue in the heart of America, that’s the kind of night that lives on. His music impacted my life majorly, and I’d be a fool to think I was the only one.
On Monday, October 7th, we escaped the ever-more-frigid midwestern air to enjoy some of the oughts’ most incredible emo tracks. The Early November was performing at The Rino in North Kansas City, MO, and — as big-time fans for over a decade — you bet we were there, surrounded by a room full of people who all had the same nostalgia while singing. In support was Have Mercy. Highlights below.
K.Flay made her mark last night in Nashville, singing and rapping triumphantly atop a mountain of cascading platforms that towered over the crowd at Marathon Music Works during the last stop of her Solutions tour. She knows her audience well, and the set list shows that: she opened with 3 tracks from her new album, Solutions (“Not In California,” “Bad Vibes,” and “This Baby Don’t Cry”). She then proceeded to play the album in its entirety throughout the show, and ended with a fan favorite–and her most popular song to date–Grammy-nominated “Blood In The Cut.” K.Flay belongs on the stage, and you can tell from her live performances that she isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Chris Davidson started his music career as a jazz drummer. The New Yorker now taps into that discipline and experience with his project CHNNLL, an alternative rock four-piece with Davidson on vocals, keys and guitar. Named as a tribute to his father, CHNNLL is in the middle of a Midwest and east coast tour called Age of Outrage. On September 24, CHNNLL returned to Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines.
Hailing from Los Angeles, sisters Jennifer and Jessie Clavin brought authentic California punk all the way to Nashville for a stellar show. Their performance was gritty, like their new record Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough?, from which they performed hits like “Hard To Kill” and “Somebody Dial 911.” They allowed us into a show that felt inexplicably DIY, like we were transported to an underground dive bar in California.
Dodie blissfully treated us to an evening of honest lyricism and simple–but far from boring–ukulele jams. It is a unique experience to see a YouTube star become an in-real-life star, and oftentimes the wonder and awe doesn’t translate the same past the computer screen, where there are no real-life jump cuts or do-overs. This is far from the case for Dodie, who captivated the flower-crowned and glitter-covered audience. She performed her hits (“She,” “Would You Be So Kind,” “Secret For The Mad”), as well as a charming a cappella cover of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” to celebrate being in Music City. Dodie managed to make Marathon Music Works feel as intimate as one of her YouTube videos, as if we were sitting there, watching her magic unfold in her bedroom.
On Thursday, August 29th, soulful songstress Beth Bombara opened for Kevin Galloway at Knuckleheads Saloon in east Kansas City. Floored by her vocals, she really warmed the crowd up for the evening. Highlight photos below!
When JoshRittermoves across the stage, he doesn’t run or walk. He bounces across it. With a smile on his face from start to finish, his bubbly attitude is contagious. Ritter is also an expert storyteller, in both his masterfully crafted lyrics and his discussions with he crowd between songs. His set list included new and old favorites, including “The Curse,” “The Temptation of Adam,” and “Getting Ready to Get Down.” Ritter released his tenth studio album in April of this year.
August 16th was a gorgeous evening at Starlight Theatre. The rain had died off, the temperature cooled down slightly, and Savannah Conley took the stage as the last of a few drops of rain came down. She impressed with the simplicity of her arrangements, the range of her voice. We grabbed a few photos, and can’t wait to see her again!
